When presenting molecular models, clarity is everything. Whether you are communicating with collaborators, students, or writing a publication, the timing and visibility of different components in a scene can dramatically affect understanding. That’s where the “Shown” animation effect from the SAMSON platform becomes especially helpful.
Imagine this: you’re building a molecular animation where several protein domains sequentially appear as you explain their function. Rather than jumbling everything on screen, you want precise control over when each part is introduced. SAMSON’s Shown animation lets you do just that, by toggling the visibility of nodes between animation keyframes—without fiddling with transparency settings or complex rendering options.
What is the ‘Shown’ Animation?
In SAMSON, nodes represent molecular entities such as atoms, residues, chains, and more. The ‘Shown’ animation ensures selected nodes appear at a chosen time point in your animation sequence. This effect strictly controls visibility (on/off), not opacity. This makes it especially useful when clarity matters—no half-shown, semi-transparent distractions, just clean reveals.
How to Add a ‘Shown’ Animation
To use the Shown animation in SAMSON:
- Select the nodes you want to appear at a specific moment.
- Open the Animation panel in the Animator.
- Double-click on Shown. This will set a keyframe at the current frame.
- Adjust the keyframes on the animation timeline to control when nodes appear.
Fine-tuning with Easing Curves
Although the Shown animation is purely visibility-based, you still have fine control over the timing behaviors using easing curves. These curves define how time is interpolated between keyframes, allowing for more natural appearing behaviors—such as gradual buildup or sudden reveals synchronized with narration or background transitions.
Use Cases that Make a Difference
Here are some common scenarios where the Shown animation enhances clarity:
- Step-by-step mechanism demonstrations, where residues or ligands appear only when they are relevant.
- Comparative structural animations, where elements of two conformations are introduced successively.
- Focus-driven scenes, where non-essential parts are initially hidden and only revealed as needed.
Compatibility and Best Practices
Note that earlier versions of SAMSON used a different interface to access animations. The Animation menu shown in older tutorials has been replaced by the Animator panel, which can be accessed via the interface shortcut (Windows: Ctrl + 7, macOS: Cmd + 7).
And remember: you can stack animation effects. Combine Shown with effects like Flash or Pulse to make elements stand out more effectively right as they are revealed.
To learn more, visit the full documentation for the Shown animation here: https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/animations/shown/
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON from https://www.samson-connect.net.